Max Healthcare launches novel plans

The plan offers benefits of a family physician, specialists and diagnostics facilities under a pre-paid package.

Targeting an area uncovered by health insurance, leading hospital chain Max Healthcare Wednesday formally launched a modular outpatient plan offering benefits of a family physician, specialists and diagnostics facilities under a pre-paid annual package.

Simultaneously, the hospital chain that is aiming to raise the number of facilities in the national capital region to nine from present multi-speciality hospitals at seven locations, has tied up with state-run United India Insurance Company Ltd to offer in-patient insurance cover also.

"This is the first plan that meets the requirement of a family physician, specialists care and diagnostics facilities under one plan. It is a partnership between a healthcare company, an insurance company and a third party administrator," said Analjit Singh, chairman of Max Healthcare Institute at the formal launch of the new product by film actor Juhi Chawla.

On offer is a standalone Max Healthcare outpatient healthcare plan for family with the option of taking an additional in-patient health insurance plan from the United India Insurance that can be availed of across the country in any of the designated hospitals including Max Healthcare.

The hospital is targeting sale of 20,000 family healthcare plans in the first year with top line revenue of Rs.200 million in the first year of operation, said Singh.

The expectations are that once the idea catches on annually at least 15,000-20,000 more people would avail of the outpatient facility, which is the first such package to be offered by a hospital chain in the capital.

With family packages varying from cover for two, four or six members, the facilities can be availed at any of the Max hospitals or from the designated family physicians empanelled by the hospital.

The product entails family members to avail of a variety of discounted services besides unlimited consultations with the hospital physicians during daytime and while at night the services of the emergency care can be availed.

Aiming to meet the day-to-day healthcare needs of the family, the Max Happy Family plan offers a 'floater' cover wherein all members of the family are covered under a single sum insured, said Anal A. Wajid, head, health insurance and international marketing of Max Healthcare.

"The health package will be of great help for people over 60 years who are generally not covered under health insurance plan," said Wajid.

For people wary of going to doctors for simple ailments or those prone to self-medication the outpatient health package will be an incentive to seek professional opinion and get the right treatment at no additional cost for consultation, said Max Healthcare officials.

The additional health insurance package from Rs.100,000 to Rs.500,000 for in-patient offers a personal accident cover, maternity cover, hospitalisation allowance and cover of day care procedures and surgeries, said Narinder Kumar, chief regional manager of United India Insurance.

Explaining the tie-up with the hospital, Kumar said the package offers the advantage of offering preventive care to people, which in many cases can reduce chances of hospitalisation through timely treatment.

"We see synergy effect. We want to control the hospitalisation bills through such products so that people get healthcare facilities at a reasonable rate and we are not overcharged by the hospitals. The third party administration by E-Meditek Solutions will ensure this," said Kumar.